


Confusing Feelings

by phrixa



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 20:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15826035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phrixa/pseuds/phrixa
Summary: After experiencing some injuries after a mission, Blitz & Fuze develop a friendship that may lead to more as they recover together.





	Confusing Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all~! I really don't know how this ship became a thing for me, but here it is! For some reason I really loved these two together. I hope you enjoy the story! It's not completed, but I'm not sure if I'll ever finish up the last parts and thought I might as well share what I have written so far! (BTW for this story I kind of imagined both Blitz & Fuze a bit younger, more so in their 20s than 30s??)
> 
> I hope you enjoy <3

Blitz was pleasantly surprised when he first arrived to his team’s new base of operations. It was more impressive than he would’ve thought and it sent a rush of adrenaline through his blood that excited him. He looked to the other members of the GSG 9 that were recruited and exchanged a beaming smile.

“Not bad” Blitz elbowed Jäger who was to his right. 

He shrugged in response, “Yeah” he added noncommittally.

Blitz still smiled with excitement, not letting the others lack of enthusiasm dampen his mood. 

“I think this will be a fun ride for us, just stick with me so we all survive, ya?” He winked at the others beside him. Jäger and Bandit looked at him with almost bored expressions, wheras IQ appeared to be holding back an eye roll.

“Ah, that’s my team. Always so lively, that’s why I love you a—“ As he was talking all three of them continued walking on towards their new residence. “—Hey, friends!” Blitz picked up his pace to catch up and hung his arms over Bandit and IQ who seemed to tolerate Blitz’s jovial attitude. 

They weren’t the most exciting bunch, but Blitz knew he would gladly take a bullet for each of them.

…

Over the next few days Blitz familiarized himself with their new base. It was reasonably large and he was sure he had only seen about half the rooms but could safely assume he would only frequent a few anyway. Most of his time so far had been spent in the canteen, gym, firing range and barracks. He was sharing a room with Jäger and Bandit, IQ had been paired with a few other women operators but he couldn’t remember their names. He honestly couldn’t remember much more than a few names with all the people they were meeting lately. 

That morning it was raining out so Blitz and Jäger were taking some shots at the firing range when one of the desk lieutenants came towards them with a group of four men behind her. He cast a glance curiously to Jäger as he was sure the man also noticed the Russian flag on the groups uniforms. Jäger gave a slight shrug with his shoulders; one Blitz could interpret as “I’m cautiously intrigued”. 

“Hello, Blitz and Jäger, how are you doing?” The woman said in a cheerfully automatic way.

“Well, ma’am. And yourself?” Blitz replied for the both him and Jäger.

“Very well, thank you!” She appeared genuinely pleased by Blitz’s courtesy. He admitted his mother did try to bring him up a gentlemen; at least she would call it that, he thought it was more common courtesy than anything. 

“I’ve come to introduce you to some of our new Operators” she continued “They come from Spetsnaz and are highly trained in both attacking and defending, much like you and your teammates.” She shifted to the side to allow Blitz and Jäger to see all four men that stood quietly behind her. 

They were all decked out in their military gear making it hard to identify them past the slightly different outfits. 

“This here is Tachanka,” she pointed to the closest man, he was tall, big and donned an impressive helmet. He gave a lazy salute as he was introduced. “He uses a deployable machine gun when defending an area”

A stationary machine gun? Blitz liked the guy already.

“This is Kapkan,” the man she gestured to next was looking over Blitz and Jäger with an intense glare, almost making Blitz want to squirm but he stopped himself “he uses tripwires on doors and windows when defending.”

“Next we have, Glaz” this one didn’t look so bad, he had a softness in his posture and eyes that didn’t strike Blitz as intimidating as the others “He is the sniper of the group, if you need a marksman Glaz will be assigned.”

“And lastly, this is Fuze” the man she gestured to was the last in the line and also the most mysterious. He was covered head to toe in his uniform making it hard for Blitz to get a read on his character which made him all the more curious. “He uses cluster charges to deploy multiple grenades to clear out a room. We will try to avoid sending him on missions when hostages are involved.” Kapkan snickered.

“Looking forward to working together, friends” Blitz smiled and unconsciously shifted his weight as he put his hand on his hips. He looked forward to working with all the operators he’s met but Russians may be a bit tricky.

“Ya” Jäger added and gave a curt wave. 

The lieutenant seemed satisfied with the introductions and waved goodbye taking the new Operators with her. 

“Russians, huh?” Jäger commented as they turned back to the firing range. Blitz shrugged.

“I like them.” Blitz grinned.

“They didn’t even say anything!” Jäger protested lightheartedly.

He winked in return.

…

Their first mission came sooner than expected. The next morning Blitz was pulled aside along with IQ and some other Operators needed for an attacking mission with the task to secure the area. The briefing went by so fast and his adrenaline was so high with excitement that he didn’t even get a chance to think until they were being transported in a heavily armed vehicle.

Blitz tapped his fingers anxiously along the rim of his shield that was leaning against his knees. IQ sat beside him, fiddling with her device. He noticed her head bobbing slightly to music she was listening to. He knew this because it was a common pre-mission ritual of hers. The familiarity of the act eased some of Blitz’s anxious nerves. 

He looked up and surveyed the rest of the men and women on the mission. Most of them were those whose names he couldn’t remember but he did notice two of the Russian Operators across from him were also present. 

Surprisingly he did remember their names, maybe because they had just met the day before and for reason left more of an impression then many of the others he had met recently. 

The man directly across from him was called Fuze and the one sitting beside him and across from IQ was Glaz. The sniper of the group had his head leaning back against the van’s side and his eyes closed, his weapon nestled across his chest tucked within his crossed arms. 

Fuze on the other hand, seemed alert. Blitz had no idea what the guy looked like yet nor did he know where he was currently looking or what expression he had right now. Hell, he hadn’t even heard the man speak yet.

“This anticipation is the worst part, wouldn’t you say? I hate waiting around.” Blitz had to raise his voice slightly to be heard over the noise of the vehicle, but he knew his intended recipient of the comment could hear it. Fuze turned his head as if he was looking at him but said nothing. 

Blitz continued to tap his shield repeatedly, and now his leg was bouncing now too. He did hate how he got the jitters between being assigned a mission and actually being in the action. 

He tried again to distract himself with conversation.

“Do you always use a shield? I saw you bring one when we were loading up?” Now there was no way that comment wouldn’t warrant a response. 

Fuze continued to sit there, his AK resting on his lap, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the gun. Blitz waited a minute before his brows furrowed in frustration. Was this guy a mute or what? He huffed, annoyed, and shifted in his seat.

The rest of the ride dragged on in relative silence. The others didn’t talk much and those who did did so amongst themselves. Blitz almost leaped out of the back of the vehicle once it rolled to a stop but settled on what could be passed as enthusiastic jump.

The team decided to split in two and breach the large house from the front and back. They were to enter, eliminate all resistance and secure the entire area. A pretty routine strategy. Blitz was with the team, which included IQ and Fuze, heading through the back. 

Watching the windows, team Beta, as they quickly distinguished as, made there way to the back. After breaching the door, Blitz went in first. The anxiety he was feeling before melted away into a sharpened focus. He loved this moment. As the team entered they met a few terrorists but through coordination quickly made swift work of them. 

They continued to the second floor where it was apparent most of their targets were settled in.

“Stick behind me!” Blitz shouted as absorbed the fire coming down the hall as they reached the second floor. The lot of them were flush against the nearby walls as gunfire continued down the hallway like rainstorm of bullets. Blitz was trying to collect his thoughts for a strategy when he noticed Fuze on the other side of the hallway entrance. He was placing a device on the wall then moved back and pressed a remote in his hand.

Blitz listened as the device shot a cluster of grenades through the nearby room. Soon a myriad of screams and shouts came from the nearby rooms and then an odd silence.

Impressive. Blitz thought.

He noticed the change in stature of the other man, like a starving dog that just caught the scent of ripe meat. Then Blitz realized what he was about to do. 

“No, wait!” 

Blitz acted before he could think, with his shield protecting what it could against the hallway and tackled Fuze as he went to head down the hall. As soon as the men could be seen a wave a bullets sprayed towards them. Blitz felt his shield absorb most of them and then it was over and he was splayed on the floor with Fuze underneath him.

“Shit! Are you an idiot?” Blitz started to yell at the man beneath him, when shouts erupted.

“Blitz!” IQ yelled. “Cover fire!” 

Blitz glanced back across the hall at IQ who was now passing the “No Man’s Land” of the exposed hallway to reach him with help of the rest of the team providing her covering fire.

“Blitz, god. Are you OK?” She kneeled before him concern lacing her eyes.

“OK? Of course, I’m fine!” He grinned back at her.

“But your leg!” She gestured down to his legs.

He rolled off Fuze and glanced down. There was a red spot on his right calf that was gradually getting larger.

“Ah, it’s just a boo boo.” He could feel the wet stickiness of blood on his leg now but the pain had not hit him yet. He didn’t know if it was a graze or if there was a piece of metal in his leg but at the moment he didn’t care. They still had a mission to do and they would need him if they were going to make it down this hall. 

IQ’s eyes widened as he stood up and readjusted his shield to sit comfortably back in his arm. In the corner of his eye he saw that Fuze as well was getting to his feet.

“What are you doing?” She growled.

“We’re still on mission, come on friend. Enough waiting, time to go.” Blitz tried not to put much weight on the injured leg. He wanted to take advantage of the adrenaline coursing thorough him to be able to ignore the pain. 

“You’re insane.” Blitz still saw anger in IQ’s eyes but there was a hint of a smile too as she gave the remark. 

“I’ll take point,” Blitz turned to look at Fuze now, “stick behind me and you might actually make it. We’ll need your cluster charge for the next room to clear out the rest of them. Got it?”

Fuze nodded in response.

“Ok, then. Stay close, let’s go!” Blitz crouched, favoring his uninjured leg heavily. He peaked around the corner and immediately felt the pounding of gunfire against his shield.

“Provide covering fire!” 

He heard IQ yell behind him. The stream of bullets slowed down and it was easier to proceed. Blitz felt Fuze behind him close. He didn’t realize it until he made note of it but Fuze had placed his hand against his shoulder as they moved. 

After a few stressful minutes they reached the room Fuze had cleared out. Both of them fired off at a few remaining alive men then Fuze immediately went to place two more cluster charges on the far wall. He let them go and there was another chaos of noise for several moments and then an eerie silence. 

“Come, let’s clear the room.” Blitz signaled to the other man to follow again. They didn’t encounter any immediate fire when they continued down the hall but when they reached the main room there were still several terrorists still alive. Blitz let out multiple flashes with his shield that helped in quickly taking them out. The rest of the team arrived to help secure the area.

Blitz could hear over the radio the team Alpha had cleared out the front of the house with no causalities. Mission success. A sense of euphoria went over Blitz as he soaked in their success.

And then he remembered his leg, and damn. It hurt like hell.

…

They all packed up back in the transport to head back to the base. It would a few hours and Blitz could really use a morphine shot to make the ride more pleasant. With all the anxiety and adrenaline leaving him system, Blitz was kind of feeling like shit now. All he wanted was a hot showering an excessively long nap.

“Don’t you need to look at that?”

Blitz’s head snapped forward from where it was leaning against the vehicles side. Who had said that? Was it Fuze? For some reason the thought excited him.

“Your leg.” The other man added.

Yes, definitely Fuze who said it and Blitz couldn’t help but smirk under his mask feeling a little smug the man had said something to him and damn, was that a thick accent or what.

“Eh? It’s just a scratch I bet, but I can indulge you.” Ignoring the pain, Blitz brought his foot up across his other leg and pulled up his jeans to assess the wound. It looked like he did indeed have a bullet lodged in his calf as he could see the entry point but not an exit one. 

“Well, shit.” He chuckled and glanced up. He hadn’t noticed that Fuze was now leaning forward, as if to get a better look. When he noticed Blitz looking at him he leaned back and crossed his arms.

Blitz couldn’t quite be sure but he thought he heard the other man mumble some kind of apology. But more likely he had hallucinated it. Damn, he really was tired. Maybe nap first and shower later.

…

When Blitz woke up, he was in a room he didn’t recognize. Across from him there was a line of empty medical beds, which he assumed, was similar to side he was on. He was lying on a bed of his own with his right leg propped up. They had removed his gear but left his sweatshirt and jeans on, however they cut them to access the wound on his leg. He frowned; he loved these jeans.

He let out a sigh and mumbled to himself, “Well, at least this is a new room.”

A snort came from his left. Blitz turned his head but encountered a drawn curtain, it was close enough for him to grab so he did so and whipped it back to see who was next door.

The man occupying the bed turned his head to the side in surprise.

Blitz grinned satisfied he caught the person off guard, “Hello”

The other man appeared to slightly flush at his greeting and he turned back away. Blitz didn’t immediately recognize the man. He had short cropped hair, much shorter than Blitz’s own slightly shaggy hair and he had surprisingly light blue eyes, they were almost gray. Blitz was almost envious as his eyes were a muddy blue at best.

The man had been stripped to a tank top as it looked like he had been shot in the shoulder from the bandages wrapping his top half. 

“Looks like you sprung a leak, friend. What happened?” Blitz shifted to sit up more, the movement sending a strong twinge of pain up his leg that he promptly ignored. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted his neighbors gear at the end of the bed. His eyes widened, it was unmistakably Fuze’s gear. Blitz turned to look at the man next to him with renewed interest. He could see it now, how this man could be underneath all that Spetsnaz gear.

“Fuze?” He asked despite knowing the answer. The other man turned to face him, his expression almost looked mad but he gave a curt nod. “Ah! You are not as ugly as I would’ve thought!” Blitz chuckled to himself but he noticed Fuze’s shoulders shrug slightly as he turned away. 

Blitz struggled to suppress a smile as he noticed Fuze’s ears twinge red. The man was obviously very easy to tease. 

“Wait…” Blitz’s eyes moved back to the Fuze’s shoulder that was bandaged, had he been shot as well? He hadn’t remembered that, he wasn’t didn’t exactly recall paying attention to the man much either. “You hit too?”

Fuze turned to Blitz with a bored expression and shrugged. 

“Doesn’t look too bad, I suppose.” Blitz added, a bit surprised at the level of worry he was feeling and a bit guilty at the fact he couldn’t protect his other teammates. He sighed and settled back into his bed, thinking. In or out of uniform, he was discovering Fuze wasn’t much of a talker.

“Sorry…”

Blitz almost started at the voice, it was thick with a Russian accent. A smile tugged at his lips realizing the man was apologizing for his dangerous behavior. Normally he would just grin and say don’t worry about it, but something compelled him to not make it that easy.

“For…?” He tried to hold back a grin.

The other man looked over, slightly confused, and with visible effort added, “For being too hasty, not thinking… getting you shot….” Blitz noticed the last part of his response was so said so soft he wasn’t even sure Fuze had said it.

“Don’t worry, my friend. All is well. Perhaps though, you owe me, ya?”

“Owe you?” Fuze frowned, his brows furrowed.

“Sure! I mean, I know you got shot too, but that was obviously instant karma, right? But I think you still owe me something…. I’ll have to think on it.” Blitz acted as if he was deep in thought.

“I do not think I owe you anything more.” Fuze ground out, somewhere between an angry huff and a pout.

Just as Blitz was going to reply a nurse came around the other curtain. She grabbed the file at the end of his bed and came to stand beside him.

“Mr. Kötz?” She purred.

It felt weird hearing his real name for a change, “What’s the damage, ma’am?” he responded.

“Well, you had a bullet lodged in your gastrocnemius muscle.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad” He smiled up at her, she was attractive, brown hair and even darker brown eyes.

She gave him an un-amused look. That’s right, she probably has patients hitting on her all the time. Blitz inwardly chastised himself and focused his attention on what she was communicating.

“Yes, well. It wouldn’t have been too bad, but your continued strain on it has damaged the muscle further. You will need to keep off the leg for the next few weeks and then another few weeks of physical therapy before you can get back into the field.” She continued, her voice stern but compassionate.

“Ah, I see.” Disappointment rose in Blitz’s gut. A whole month before going back in the field. The thought made the disappointment simmer and frustration grow. 

As he continued to think the nurse moved over to Fuze’s bed.

“Mr. Kesslkbayev?” 

As it was weird to hear his own name after so long it was more interesting to hear another operatives. They weren’t allowed to know each others names, or weren’t supposed to at least.

“Ya?” 

It was hard for Blitz not to overhear the conversation. I mean, they were only a few feet away.

“The bullet mainly passed through the trapezius muscle, it was a pretty clean pass so you should be able to use it regularly in a few weeks. Keep it in the sling for the next week and don’t overstrain the muscle.”

Blitz saw Fuze nod in acknowledge out of the corner of his eye. Once the nurse was done, she returned his files and went off to the next bed. 

Now they were alone again.

“You know, I think I will need some help the next month…” Blitz turned his head to Fuze and smiled knowingly. “I think I want to cache in that favor already.”

Fuze slowly turned to Blitz and scowled, then grabbed the curtain between them and harshly drew it closed.

Blitz bit his lip as he tried not to grin. Yes, this, at least, would be a distraction during his time benched.

…

The next morning Blitz woke up to his leg throbbing. Whatever pain meds they had given him before were wearing off and leaving a sharp constant pain. It wasn’t anything unfamiliar but it wasn’t very pleasant or convenient. 

After managing to get dressed and shave, Blitz grabbed the crutches loaned to him and began his hobble to the canteen for breakfast. With some others helping with the doors, he managed to make it there in three times the time it would take normally.

The room wasn’t that busy as he scanned the room. A smile threatened his lips as he spotted Fuze in on the far end, eating alone. He wondered briefly, how often he had seen the Russian and not known it was him.

Blitz made his way to Fuze’s table and awkwardly took a seat across him with his injured leg. The man briefly looked up from his half eaten meal. His arm was still in it’s sling so Blitz noticed he was just eating left handed.

“Looks good.” Blitz started. 

Fuze continued eating.

He thought for a moment, then pulled his leg up on the bench. With a groan, “Ugh, my leg is hurting terribly today” then with an agonized expression rubbed at his shin.

Fuze paused.

A beat.

Without a word, he rose from his spot and made his way over to the wall of food. Blitz smiled at himself, “ah, Victory” 

He felt someone sit down behind him and turned his head to meet Jäger’s curious stare.

“Yes?” He asked sweetly.

“What the hell are you doing over here?” Jäger’s brows creased, his arms crossed on the table.

“What? I can’t sit somewhere else?”

“Sure, I guess. But you choose to sit with the creepy Russian?”

Creepy? Blitz thought briefly on that.

“Maybe I was just tired of seeing your ugly mug.” 

“Unlikely.” Jäger smiled.

Blitz rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, man. I’ll help you to our table.” Jäger got up then went to help Blitz rise as well but Blitz didn’t move to leave.

“Nah, I’m already comfortable here, I’ll find you later in the day, ya?”

A clash of metal diverted both of the mans attention. Fuze had, not so subtly, set down the tray of food and coffee in front of Blitz. The coffee slightly spilled at the action.

“Danke” Blitz grinned.

“Uh…” Jäger sound bewildered, “what?” 

“What?” Blitz looked back up at him and smiled at the confused expression. Jäger’s face dropped to annoyance, then looked between Blitz and Fuze a few times.

“Whatever, man.” He sighed as he shrugged then turned to leave.

Blitz turned back to his food, his mouth watering at the variety of delicious breakfast foods awaiting him. He glanced up and saw Fuze watching him. 

Blitz winked, “Yummy, right?” another smile.

Fuze looked back down at his food and continued eating but not before Blitz noticed a slight redness to his cheeks. 

…

It was late in the afternoon when Jäger found Blitz in the recreation room watching a sports game. He sat down with an exaggeratedly surprised look on his face.

“So, care to tell me know where this budding friendship with the Russian Operative came from?” Jäger said.

Blitz let out a dramatic sigh and rubbed at his leg, “Maybe I made a new friend, jealous?”

Jäger rolled his eyes, “Hardly. Just weird is all.”

“Is it? I can’t imagine why.” Blitz shrugged.

“Well, he was getting your breakfast first of all.”

Blitz smiled, “Ah, well. We do have a little bit of an arrangement currently.”

“Ok... Which is?”

“It’s a secret.” Blitz said with a wink.

“Of course it is” Another Jäger eye roll. “Well, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one who says that? Considering… you being you.”

“Ha, maybe.”

The two men grinned at each other and turned their attention back to the game. Jäger was Blitz’s closest friend in the Rainbow program. Even though the man could be a bit abrasive he was dutiful in a fight and incredibly reliable. And Blitz could always count on him being honest which he valued.

Once the game was over, they watched another. Bandit came to join them and brought a surprising amount of beer. All three of them consumed the alcohol, joked and watched TV until late in the night. By the time they all dispersed it was late nearing 1am. 

Bandit and Jäger headed to their room in the barracks when Blitz verged off. He hadn’t taken a shower since before the mission and he was smelling unpleasant at best. It probably wasn’t the best idea to take one now that he had several beers in him and a busted leg but Blitz was terribly stubborn sometimes.

The room was empty when he arrived, it was even dark as he entered before the motion lights turned on. He hobbled over to a bench in front of his locker and took a seat. Blitz pulled off whatever clothes he was wearing and his bandages with relative ease then went to stand up, he wobbled a bit, but he shook it off. Now, how to get into a shower stall…

Blitz grabbed a towel and his crutches and made his way into the stalls, thankful the floor wasn’t wet yet, he picked the closest stall and leaned the crutches against the side then hopped inside. The water spurted out briefly before turning into a steady flow. 

“Ah…” Blitz out a content sigh as the hot water pounded him. Eventually he knew he would need to turn around, he put his hands against the stalls sides and hopped to turn his back to the showerhead. He grabbed whatever shampoo he could find and lathered it in his hair. He went to lean his head back when his good leg slipped and he fell, hard, on his ass.

“Oh, fuck.” Blitz groaned as pain radiated from his tailbone. He looked up and also noticed he must’ve hit the metal shelf on his way down as it was dented. He sighed and leaned his head against the cold tiled back of the shower stall, contemplating his life, the world, everything suddenly seemed so important being drunk and having fallen in the shower. 

Blitz almost jumped when he saw someone come around the side of the stall. Instinctively he brought his legs up and shielded his dick from whatever threat could appear but as his eyes focused he realized it was Fuze. 

The man had a towel around his waist and nothing else. He looked like he had just come out of the shower himself… Damn, how long had he been sitting here?

Blitz didn’t know how he looked sitting there, his eyes heavy just looking up at this other guy. Honestly, he didn’t expect Fuze to be so bulky. He wore so much in terms of a uniform, Blitz couldn’t really gage if the man was lean or muscled. Well, now he knows for sure, the man was definitely more on the muscled side. It wasn’t lean muscle, like his stomach didn’t have defined abs but there wasn’t a lot of fat there either. Blitz liked that. He didn’t know why, and didn’t want to think on that fact but for some reason he did. 

His eyes drifted lower when he finally snapped out of it. He really hoped he hadn’t just been sitting there; weirdly assessing this other mans physique for too long.

“Care to lend a hand?” Blitz finally said, his words ever so slightly slurred.

Fuze seemed to think for a few seconds, then grabbed hold of Blitz’s arm and hauled him up. With the alcohol, Blitz’s reactions were sluggish. One hand cupping his dick, the other arm being roughly pulled up by Fuze, and having one good leg, he shouldn’t have been that surprised when instead of simply standing back up, he crashed against Fuze. The man stumbled backwards a few steps with a pained grunt but otherwise held his ground, meaning Blitz just awkwardly leaned against half of his chest. 

“This is…” He started to try to make a joking comment but something in his gut tightened and his mouth suddenly stopped. The contact only lasted a few seconds but it felt like minutes. Fuze pushed Blitz back upright and Blitz looked up at the slightly taller man.

He couldn’t tell if the man was flushed before from the hot shower or that the redness was a recent reaction. 

“You’re drunk.” Fuze stated simply.

Blitz tried to quickly pull himself together, hoping to say something lighthearted, “I am not, you’re drunk.” 

Ugh, lame.

Fuze looked up past his head with an impatient expression, then let out a deep sigh. Blitz tried not to look at the way it made the man’s chest expand.

“Come.”

Fuze pulled Blitz back in the shower where he hobbled to oblige, for a moment he stood there confused, then Fuze removed his steady grip on his arm and pushed his head down in the stream of water. 

Ah, right. The shampoo.

The feeling of Fuze’s hand roughly running through his hair felt surprisingly good. Blitz had to catch himself from letting out a sigh that could’ve been interpreted as pleasurable.

When the water suddenly stopped, Blitz looked up, Fuze was turning off the showerhead and returned his grip to Blitz’s arm. Without warning, Fuze guided him back to the lockers to dry off and get dressed. After he had brought Blitz to a bench he let go and went to the other side of the lockers and opened one. 

Blitz grabbed his nearby towel and started drying off. Once adequately dry, he stood to wrap the towel around his waist and opened his locker. Luckily he had stocked up on bandage wrappings when he originally had filled the locker.

He grabbed a roll and brought his leg up to lay against the bench. The wound didn’t look too bad, it was leaking blood a bit, probably due to the shower and fall, and was quite bruised but they had done a good job patching him up. Since this was the first time really seeing his leg he didn’t know there was a bullet graze a bit higher, it actually look like it took a bit of his leg out. That wound was bleeding more profusely, enough so that was dripping on the bench.

“Oops.” Blitz mumbled.

He began to bandage it up by simply wrap the cloth around his leg when a hand grab his wrist. Blitz looked up, it was Fuze, he was still here, but now dressed in a t-shirt and sweats.

Fuze shook his head briefly, “You’re not doing it right.” He straddled the bench in front of Blitz’s outstretched leg. He then grabbed the bandage out of Blitz’s hand without a word and tore off a portion with his mouth. He then folded itself and held it against the graze wound.

“Hold it.”

Blitz obliged immediately. 

Fuze repeated the act for the other wound. He didn’t have to say anything for Blitz to know to hold it down as well. Then Fuze began wrapping the entire area with the bandage, having Blitz remove his hands once he covered the stacked cloth he was holding. Once done wrapping, Fuze secured the bandage.

“Danke” Blitz grinned sheepishly. He turned back towards his locker and started getting dressed himself. While doing so, he noticed Fuze had brought his crutches back over and now handed them back to Blitz. He nodded in replace of a thanks and shifted them under his shoulders. 

Both men left the room and started walking to the barracks. Blitz knew his pace was slower because of the crutches but he noticed Fuze didn’t leave him behind.

They arrived to Blitz’s room first, he stopped before opening the door.

“And now… For the goodnight kiss.” Blitz joked, grinning up at Fuze. He expected the man to roll his eyes or smack him upside the head. At least that’s what Jäger and Bandit do when he says such things. But his mouth went dry and his heart clenched at the stoic expression the other man had suddenly. Blitz’s eyes widened as he watched Fuze’s eyes flick to his lips then back up to meet Blitz’s somewhat nervous stare.

Fuze leaned forward, slowly, so slowly that it felt like time itself was slowing down. Blitz’s heart hammered against his ribs, and he couldn’t move, as if the man’s look had turned him to stone. He inhaled sharply as Fuze’s face was only inches away from his own.

Then, Blitz’s shoulder suddenly faltered and he almost fell forward. His crutch had been knocked out of his shoulder’s hold on it and if Blitz hadn’t been holding on to it, would’ve crashed to floor. Blitz steeled himself against the sudden vertigo he was feeling. Once he had adjusted the crutch back in its place and he looked back up at the man beside him.

Fuze was no longer leaning in but rather, surprisingly he was standing rigidly straight with a smirk playing on his lips. Blitz noticed one of Fuze’s canines poked out crookedly when he smiled. He tried not to think how charming that looked.

Then it hit him, Fuze was the one who knocked out his crutch. He was playing with him. How? Blitz was the one who teased and never received anything that threw him so off guard. It had to be the alcohol, it was dulling his senses, his reactions. Everything. Definitely, all to blame on the alcohol.

Blitz’s eyes narrowed but before he could regain his composure and say something Fuze simply said:

“Sleep well.” 

And clapped Blitz’s shoulder before turning to continue down the hall. Blitz looked down at the handle on the door in front of him. He stared at it dumbly as his mind caught up with what just happened. 

He scoffed at himself. This Fuze guy isn’t so bad after all. A smile bloomed at the thought and he turned the handle to enter his room.

…

It was late in the morning before Blitz woke up to a well deserved headache. Eventually he pulled himself out of bed at the thought of a cup of coffee and about two gallons of water.

When he arrived at the canteen there was only a few people present. The breakfast food had been put away but there was still some drinks and snacks for throughout the day. Blitz somehow managed to get a large cup of coffee and an apple before he sat down at one of the tables. 

He sat there, rubbing his temples before a nearby conversation peaked his interest. 

“—the Russian operators.”

Blitz knew there were two men talking at the table behind him but he had paid them much attention when he initially came in.

“Oh, yeah. They are nuts. I was just sent on a mission with Tachanka and Kapkan. The two of them are insane, all I have to say is I’m glad they are on our side”

The other man chuckled. 

“Have you met the Russian attackers?”

Blitz interest suddenly peaked.

“Nah, not really. But I’ve heard rumors of that one, Fuze? I think he’s called.”

“Oh?” He says with a full mouth of food.

“Yeah, so apparently he was almost discharged for killing a hostage.”

“Damn! Seriously?”

“Mmhmm. And, I’ve heard that…” His voice gets quieter “he’s got some weird fetish about it, like he gets off on killing them or something.”

The other man inhaled. Blitz’s nails dug into his fist, thoroughly annoyed by this point.

“That’s messed up” He laughed.

“Yeah, well. He looks like he would be a weirdo so I’m not surprised.”

“I agree, he’s all quiet and standoffish, could definitely be a psycho.”

Blitz chugged down the hot coffee, not caring that it burned the back of his throat and pocketed the small apple. When he got up he pointedly glared at the men behind him. Unfortunately he didn’t recognize either of them. It was a little weird to chastise grown men for a conversation he only overheard so Blitz gritted his teeth and left the room.

He stopped awkwardly in the hall, not sure what to do. After a few people passed and greeting them, Blitz eventually just started walking. Or at least his version of walking that was mainly hobbling. Without anywhere in particular to go, Blitz continued to explore new areas he hadn’t yet seen. 

It was about a half an hour later when Blitz stumbled upon the garage. There were a few people mulling about as he explored. He noticed tucked away in the corner a now familiar figure. Blitz’s lips twitched up. As quietly as he could with crutches, he approached the man hunched over, back turned. 

Once he got within a few feet Blitz was a bit surprised he hadn’t turned around yet but then noticed the ear buds. Blitz smiled. He approached just close enough not to touch and felt the warmth radiated from the other man’s back. Then every so carefully, he leaned forward, his chest just grazing Fuze’s back, and his hand raising to yank out an ear bud, when Fuze startled jumping up. 

The sudden movement knocked Blitz back, unable to properly adjust his balance on one leg and crutches he started falling backwards. Fuze had turned and noticed Blitz falling and quickly grabbed the mans arm to stop him. However, he didn’t account for the fact he wasn’t prepared for the pull of such extra weight and started falling forward as well and the two awkwardly fell onto the cold concrete floor. 

It’s only been a few days and Blitz had already fallen on his ass twice, and now his ass was paying the price. For a moment he felt the weight of Fuze on top of him and he lost his breath, or it had been pushed out of him from sudden weight against his chest, either way he had to suck in air and remember to breathe. 

“Well, that backfired.” Blitz chuckled, trying to ease the awkwardness immediately. Fuze used his good arm to lift himself up and Blitz noticed the man’s expression of slight surprise. 

“Sorry” Fuze mumbled and that slight redness returned to his ears and cheeks and Blitz realized he was getting quiet addicted to that reaction.

“No, my apologies. I startled you.” Intentionally, but he wasn’t going to admit that now.

Fuze held out his hand to help him up, which Blitz took and felt a wave of déjà vu. He sat on a nearby box, as Fuze gathered up what he had been working on. From the looks of it it looked like some kind of gadget. 

“What are you working on?” Blitz leaned forward intrigued.

Fuze turned to look at him with a bit of surprise and shyness. He fiddled with something on the gadget before sitting down himself.

“Another kind of cluster charge, one that can be rolled or thrown and then discharges multiple grenades.” He explains in a tone Blitz hadn’t heard before, one that seemed more peaceful, but given the content, was a little unnerving.

“Wait, so the thing you had just dropped was something with multiple grenades in it?”

“Ya?”

Blitz’s head twitched to side, thanking that the both of them didn’t blow up to this unfinished makeshift explosion device. Fuze, though, didn’t seem worried, so he tried not to think about.

“Well, hope you get it to work then. Sounds useful.”

With that a silence settled between them. Fuze continued working as if Blitz wasn’t even present. Blitz thought on what else to say, he still knew little about the other man. He hesitated a bit before deciding to ask…

“So, did you ever… you know, kill a hostage with one of those?” Blitz gestured to the gadget in the other man’s hands. 

Fuze’s hands stopped tinkering, his body going rigid. There was another silence for a moment and then he answered, without looking up.

“I have… “ He shifted, “hurt a hostage. But never killed.”

Blitz saw how uncomfortable the admission made the other man and instantly felt a bit guilty. Then felt angry with the gossiping operators in the canteen this morning. 

“I see.” Blitz said to fill the silence. “Well, I’m sure it wasn’t intentional.”

Fuze’s head whipped and his eyes narrowed, “Of course it wasn’t.”

Blitz startled at the bite in the other man’s response, “Yes, I believe you! That’s what I meant.” 

“Oh.” Fuze’s sudden anger seemed to dissipate.

A more comfortable silence fell as Biltz watched Fuze tinker on his new gadget. Out of the corner of his eye, Blitz spotted a riot shield leaning up against some nearby metal crates. It reminded him that he’s seen Fuze uses a shield sometimes in the field. Honestly, how could he have forgotten when only a few operators chose to use one. 

“Hey man, would you like some tips on using a riot shield? I’ve noticed you training with one sometimes.”

“Who says I need tips?” A twitch catches Fuze’s lips.

“Mmm, well you’re resident shield expert does.” Blitz grinned.

“Oh, so Montague said that?”

“Hey!” Blitz jumped up, a heat in his gut, momentarily forgetting that he had a busted leg. Once his thoughts caught up to his body’s reaction he felt the sting of pain from his calf and stumbled, falling forward. Fuze quickly held an arm, catching Blitz before he face planted. 

“Ugh, Danke.” Blitz mumbled as he righted himself. He turned to look back at Fuze, who was trying to repress a smile. God, could he make anymore of a fool of himself.

“Ok.”

“What?”

“If you think you can teach me something, I will listen.” Fuze shrugged.

Blitz grinned, “Alright! Tomorrow then. Meet me at the training grounds.”

“But— with injuries…” Fuze’s brows furrowed.

Blitz scoffed lightheartedly, “Whatever, we can work around them. 0800, tomorrow.” He smiled at down at a bewildered Fuze as he grabbed his crutches. Blitz wasn’t quite sure why it felt like such a success to get the man to agree but he did and it made his chest feel warm. 

…

Blitz had a scalding hot cup of coffee in hand as he sat on one of the benches in the training grounds. It was 0730, so he was just… slightly early. The air was cool and Blitz could feel his cheeks turning red as he sat there. His good leg began to bounce in boredom or anticipation he wasn’t sure.

“You’re early.” 

Blitz flinched and instantly chastised himself for it. He looked up to see Fuze looking down at him, a smirk threatening his lips. He had dark circles under his eyes and his eyes looked heavy. 

“Hey—“ The word cracked making Blitz clear his throat awkwardly. “Hey” He repeated lamely. 

Silence.

Blitz jumped up, realizing he was just zoning out, staring at Fuze for a bit too long of time. He must still be tired. “Ok! So—“

Fuze shifted backwards at the sudden movement. 

“I’ll watch you up ahead on the viewing deck while you take the training course, shield and pistol only, and we will start there.” Blitz finally found his voice and only spared Fuze a glance once he was done with his plan.

Fuze tilted his head like an interested puppy and Blitz’s heart twitched at the sight. Then Fuze shrugged and simply said, “Alright.”

Blitz hobbled up to the viewing deck to start the training course. He could see down into the structured area. It was comprised over various rooms and hallways that were aimed to be confusing and disorientating. Cardboard targets would pop out at random places and the operator was supposed to shot them while avoiding any civilian targets that also randomly spawned. There were also rubber bullets that would be shot at the operator that they were meant to avoid. 

Blitz saw Fuze get into position at the start of the course. He noticed Fuze rolling his shoulders which reminded Blitz that Fuze had actually been wounded as well. He hadn’t even asked how the many was healing up, would this aggravate the wound? 

Blitz snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Fuze motioned at him that he was ready. Blitz finished up the settings and hit the final button to activate the course. Fuze instantly brought his shield up, his pistol in the hand and began making his way through the rooms shooting at the targets. The rubber bullets hammered down on his shield, making the rooms echo with a thudding noise.

Blitz felt mesmerized watching the fellow operator move through the course. He could tell Fuze wasn’t as familiar with a shield as he was, but he was still quite skilled at maneuvering and taking out the targets in a decent time. 

Unfortunately Blitz wasn’t sure what else he could teach the man, maybe some various tips and tricks but the other man was more skilled than he anticipated. As Blitz started to head down to the end of the course to meet with Fuze he noticed something on one of the shelves leading out of the viewing room.

He grinned. Taking the item, he headed down the stairs to meet with Fuze.

Blitz was waiting for him once Fuze cleared the door of the course, entering the final room that was usually used to drop off weapons and debrief the trainee. Fuze was breathing slightly ragged but otherwise he looked the same he had several minutes ago. He raised his brows expectantly at Blitz.

“You did well, better than I expected actually.” Blitz nodded thoughtfully, trying not to grin as he noticed Fuze’s lips twitched into a smile. “But…”

Fuze’s brows furrowed, “…But?”

“I’m just wondering how you would react to something that would compromise your vision.” Blitz smiled, obviously Fuze had not noticed that man held one hand behind his back.

Fuze looked confused, then instinctively began to bring up on the shield, but it was too late, Blitz tossed up the flash grenade and covered his own eyes in the crook of his elbow to protect himself.

Once the flash died down, Blitz opened eyes to see if he had pulled one over on the other man.

“Hey!” Fuze growled, as his shield and other arm went up to shield himself. Blitz laughed as he watched Fuze fumbling. 

Then, an odd thought came over Blitz. He moved toward Fuze. With one hand he grabbed the edge of the mans shield, and with the other he grabbed Fuze’s free arm. He watched Fuze’s expression grow even more confused.

“What?” Fuze uttered.

Blitz’s heart hammered as he looked into the other man’s face. He could tell Fuze’s eyesight was shot, his eyes crystal blue eyes darted left and right, unable to focus, blinking rapidly. Blitz felt him try to back up, to pull from the grip Blitz had but he held tight and Fuze was too disorientated to effectively escape Blitz’s grip.

Blitz had no idea what compelled him, maybe this is why he initially picked up the flash grenade, not to help teach Fuze the way to shield himself against flanking enemies, but to actually find an opportunity to…

Kiss him?

Blitz wasn’t expecting such soft lips and he didn’t know why his tongue felt the need escape his mouth and trail against Fuze’s top lip but he didn’t have much time to think about it as Fuze ripped his arm free and harshly pushed Blitz backwards. Blitz stumbled with his bad leg and ended up falling on his ass. 

He looked back up at Fuze, realization dawning on him what he had just done. Fuze’s eyes blinked rapidly, his face scrunched up in anger and confusion as his vision returned.

His mouth opened, but took a few seconds for words to emerge, “…the fuck?” then his face began to burn red as he realized what had happened Blitz assumed.

Blitz could only guess how he looked right now, probably like a boy who was just caught with hand in the cookie jar. He was ashamed, he didn’t know why he did that, but he was also scared. He didn’t want Fuze to hate him, or worse, be disgusted by him.

“It was just a joke!” Blitz tried to grin and laugh, but his voice came out slightly shaky, betraying him.

Fuze looked down at him, his expression clearly angry. But he didn’t move… Blitz’s heart thumped in his chest and his mouth felt suddenly dry. Without thought he licked his lips, then immediately regretted it as Fuze’s eyes flicked down to his mouth and the man stiffened. 

Fuze straightened and looked up to the far wall then hurriedly left the room. The door closed with a loud clang and Blitz felt the room get eerily cold. His body slumped from the tension it had just held and Blitz put his head in his hands.

“What… What was that?” He shook his head, “Why would I do that?” a fresh surge of shame rushed through him. “I completely took advantage of him. God, I’m the fucking worst of the worst…” 

Blitz sat there on the cold concrete, a million thoughts racing through his head.

…

 

Blitz had experienced the rest of the day in a daze, trying to sort out what had happened that morning. When he tried to go to bed that night he found it would not welcome him, instead he continued to toss and turn until the early morning. Somehow, his body had given up and he had gotten a few hours sleep, but he woke the next morning feeling groggy and tired.

He made his way to the canteen in a quest to find the strongest coffee available. The room was moderately busy and Blitz appreciated the distraction of other people milling about. He grabbed a large cup of coffee and an egg sandwich and found an empty table to sit at.

He watched his food as he ate, thinking about the emotional journey he went on yesterday. He had tried to understand what had come over him with Fuze. He had joked around with friends all the time, but somehow this felt different. It had actually felt serious. It had dawned on him that Fuze, in some way was different than his other buddies, but he was terrified to admit it what way.

Did he really have… feelings towards the other man? Like, sexual feelings or romantic feelings? He asked himself these questions repeatedly yesterday and with each time they didn’t get easier to answer. His stomach felt like a bird was stuck in it and trying to escape thinking about this.

“Where is your new friend?”

Blitz startled at the voice causing the other man to laugh.

“Ah, Jäger. What’s up?” Blitz forced a relaxed smile.

“Nothing, you seem out of it though. You lonely? Not eating with your new boyfriend?”

Blitz stiffened at the word even though he know Jäger was just teasing him. He hoped he hadn’t noticed but by Jäger ‘s expression he had and just wasn’t saying anything.

“Ha, ha. Just didn’t sleep well. Leg has been acting up.” He lied badly.

“Mmm.” Jäger responded, carefully watching him. “I see. Well, hey. Come hang out with me and the others in the rec room, we are watching the game this afternoon.”

Blitz smiled and nodded, “Alright”. He was thankful for Jäger not pressing him about his mood, and for trying to include him in something that would distract him from his thoughts. Jäger was eerily observant but he was also a good friend. Blitz appreciated that.

Jäger left to go get his own breakfast and Blitz continued to eat and resumed his contemplation. 

…

The game was starting soon so Blitz finished dressing and toweled his hair as he had just finished showering. He re-bandaged his leg and tried not to think of Fuze. The wound had pretty much sealed up and this would probably be the last time he would need to bandage it. He was scheduled to go to physical therapy tomorrow and he was excited to start using his leg again.

Blitz exited to the shower room and almost froze as he noticed the Russian operators coming down the hallway. He turned to start heading towards his destination when he heard someone shout.

“Ay, you!” 

Blitz stopped in his tracks at the loud, gruff voice. He heard the men coming towards him, having no idea what to expect.

“You know what is up with Fuze?” Kapkan asked, his expression dark.

Blitz opened his mouth to respond but his mouth felt dry, as if the words had dried up on this tongue. The Russians had obviously noticed Blitz’s deer in the headlights expression and the whole mood of the group felt tense.

“Did you do something? Whenever we mention you, Fuze gets all weird.” Glaz inquired from behind the other two men.

Blitz, the man who always had something to say and joke about, could not say a thing.

“I don’t like this. You did something.” Tachanka growled.

“I— I didn’t, I— I just… Look I can explain… I think…” Blitz stammered, knowing how guilty he was.

“I knew it. No explanations, just this!”

With that Tachanka’s fist pulled back and Blitz knew exactly what was coming. He could’ve dodged or deflected it if he wanted to, but he felt like he deserved it.

The fist landed on Blitz’s nose with a crunch, the impact causing him to fall back on his ass, yet again. He could already feel the blood dripping down his nose and his eyes watered to the point where the three men before him looked blurry. 

“Hey!” 

Blitz watched as the three Russian operators turned to look behind them.

“What are you doing?”

“Fuze, we got you. Do not worry.” Tachanka replied.

Fuze? Was that who was coming down the hall? Blitz blinked his eyes furiously but the pain from his possibly broken nose was causing his eyes to water too much.

Blitz heard someone sigh.

“I don’t— Just leave him alone.”

“But—“

Blitz watched as a figure came between the men then stood before him. At this distance he could tell it was Fuze and for some reason he felt his body sing with nerves. Fuze crouched down, then grabbed Blitz’s arm and before he knew it Fuze had hauled him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

Blitz didn’t know what was going on. He felt Fuze carry him through a door, and the cool air instantly signified they were outside then without warning, Fuze dropped him on the grass.

Blitz looked up at the other man stupefied. His eyes had cleared a bit but now he could feel the blood from his nose and dripped down his mouth and to his chin. He tasted the familiar tangy metallic of blood.

“S-Sorry.” Blitz said, feeling the need to apologize.

Fuze crouched in front of him and just stared for a few moments. He grabbed the bottom of Blitz’s shirt, making Blitz yelp, then brought it up to his mouth and began wiping the blood away.

“Y-You have a very motherly instinct, don’t you?” Blitz joked, trying to fill the silence and trying to ignore the nervousness coursing through him.

“Was it a joke?” Fuze said.

“What?” Blitz asked without thinking. He knew what Fuze was referring to and the other man knew it. 

A moment passed and Blitz turned his head and looked away. The day was overcast, the clouds were a deep grey and he just now noticed that there was a light sprinkle of rain. He didn’t know how to respond.

Fuze sighed.

But Blitz couldn’t bring himself to look at the other man. He felt a hand grab his wrist and he was hauled off the ground. Fuze brought Blitz’s arm over his own shoulder and he helped him begin to walk. Blitz didn’t say anything as they re-entered the building. He didn’t know where they were going until he noticed the familiar door to the medical wing.

A nurse approached them and directed Blitz to take a seat so someone could attend to his nose. Once Fuze had helped Blitz to the seat he gave him on more look then turned and left without another word.

…

The next morning, Blitz had an appointment with a physical therapist. He grabbed something quick to eat at the canteen then made his way to the medical wing. The man he met was taller than him, with a fit body accentuated by the tight shirt he was wearing. The thought of Fuze in a tight shirt like that crossed Blitz’s mind and he shook his head to get rid of it.

It was good to start using his leg again, but the therapist told him he would need to work on it gradually in order to not disrupt the remaining healing process. He gave Blitz the OK to work on putting some weight on the leg and to try doing some walking but to not overdo it.

Blitz bid the man and the other nurses he saw a farewell, and scheduled another appointment in a few days. He was itching to be able to do something physical and with his therapist’s go ahead he figured he could try using the gym again. At least he could freely work on everything but the one leg.

When he arrived at the gym, he only noticed a few other operators already amongst the machines. He jerked his head when he made eye contact with them to say hello. Blitz went to work lifting some weights and picking machines that would focus on his core. The physical burn felt so good after so much time spent just lazing about.

He almost flinched when he noticed out of the corner of his eye Fuze had entered the room. He was wearing a simple grey t-shirt and a pair of sweats that had some Russian running down the leg. Blitz was pretty sure the jump his heart made had nothing to do with the exercise we was just doing. 

He noticed Fuze pause for a moment as he noticed Blitz in the room, then made his way to a nearby treadmill. Blitz tried his best, really, to not watch Fuze taking the treadmill at a run. Like how he tried not to notice how the man actually had meaty enough pecs that they bounced when he ran. Blitz turned his head abruptly as his cheeks warmed.

Blitz had ditched the crutches for now so he rose from his machine and began limping to the next. He felt Fuze’s eyes on him as he moved. He tried to focus on his own workout but Fuze was effectively being a considerable distraction.

The weights from Blitz’s machine dropped with a clang and he rose. He stretched his arms, pulling each one across his chest as he looked back at Fuze. The man was still watching him but instead of glancing away, Blitz held on to his gaze as he approached. 

Blitz noticed Fuze slightly trip as he approached the man. 

“Hello.” Blitz grinned.

Fuze simply looked at him as he adjusted the treadmill’s speed to slow to a stop. Without the machine’s noise, the silence felt heavy.

Blitz thought for a nervous moment what more he should say, he hadn’t thought this through at all. 

“Do you… Do you want to spar?” Blitz hesitantly asked and he cursed himself for showing his uncertainty.

Fuze’s head tilted slightly like he was surprised of the offer. He opened his mouth and Blitz’s heart seized, afraid of the man rejecting the offer.

“I can understand if you are scared— I mean I am OK with going easy on you.” Blitz quickly added. Maybe if he can goad the man then he wouldn’t outright refuse him.

Fuze’s eyebrows lowered and he glared. Blitz tried to not get distracted by the way the other man’s chest rose and fall as he got his breath back from running. Blitz watched as Fuze descended off the treadmill and made his way to the sparring mat on the other side of the room. Once there he made a gesture for Blitz to come to him.

Blitz’s mouth went dry and he felt his nerves twitch through him. He did his best not to show a significant limp when he made his way to the mat but he saw Fuze’s eyes flick to his leg.

“Alright then.” Blitz said as he arrived, his voice betraying him by breaking. They stood there in silence for a moment, before Blitz built up the courage to lunge at the larger man. 

Fuze caught the lunge and twisted Blitz to the ground. Blitz exploited Fuze’s injured shoulder and twisted out from his grip. He rose to his knees and tossed a punch towards Fuze’s face that he blocked aside and rolled away from. Blitz frustratingly struggled to rise to his feet with his one leg and it irritated him that Fuze didn’t exploit that weakness rather waiting for him. 

He threw several more punches that Fuze blocked or dodged. A few of them clipped the man but for the most part Fuze was easily able avoid Blitz as he had limited mobility. Blitz let out a frustrated breath through his nose and charged at Fuze again but with more force. They both landed with a grunt, and then hurriedly struggled against one another to get the upper hand. 

Blitz went to exploit Fuze’s shoulder again but Fuze was expecting it and he gripped Blitz’s arms and pulled them into a hold against his chest. Blitz growled as he fought against the hold. His breath heaved in and out as he knew he had been beat. 

As the adrenaline settled he became aware of the way Fuze’s whole body felt atop his. The man’s face only half a foot away. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his eyes were the brightest he had seen them. Blitz knew he should be saying he yielded to start again but all he could think about was the way Fuze’s body felt against his own and how badly he wanted to close the gap and claim the other man’s lips for himself.

Blitz licked his own lips thinking about it.

Fuze’s eyes widened as his gaze flicked down to Blitz’s lips then back again. He immediately let go of Blitz as if he were made of hot metal and rose. He cleared his throat and started to leave the area.

“Wait!” Blitz said without thinking. Fuze froze for a moment but then ignored him and hurriedly left the room.

Blitz sighed heavily and let his head fall back on the mat. What was he doing?

…

Later that night, Jäger had cornered Blitz and demanded that he join him in going to the nearby bar. Blitz didn’t actually mind, as the promise of alcohol was very tempting to him right now. And maybe he could confide in Jäger, he didn’t think the man would judge him, or at least hoped he wouldn’t. 

The bar was just a local joint, in the nearest town from the operator’s base. It was old and dingy and filled with locals but it was a bar and that’s all either Blitz or Jäger cared about at the moment. They received some curious looks when they entered but by the time they sat down at the bar the other patron’s curiosity settled. They ordered some drinks from the bartender, which the older man quickly delivered with a grunt.

Blitz sighed happily as he took a sip and felt the heat travel down his throat and settle in his belly. 

Jäger eyed him curiously from his left until finally Blitz said something.

“What?” He turned to look at Jäger pointedly.

Jäger smiled, his eyes twinkled.

“So…?” He purred.

“…So? What?” Blitz responded, not understanding what Jäger was playing at.

Jäger looked at him knowingly and Blitz sighed running a hand down his face.

“Let’s talk about that Russian guy.”

Blitz’s shoulders tensed, even though he had a feeling that Jäger would’ve observed something by now it still caught him off guard.

“What… do you want to talk about?” Blitz responded hesitantly. He had actually wanted to bring this up but he was hoping he’d at least be half drunk before doing so.

“Why are you guys makes googly eyes at each other all the time?”

Blitz snorted, “’Googly’ eyes?! Come on, you can’t be serious.”

“I am dead serious. As always, you know that. You both looking at each other like you want to suck each other’s dicks off.” 

Blitz had been taking a sip of his drink and spat it back in the glass messily at the comment.

“—What?” Blitz laughed nervously. Was it really that obvious that something was weird between him and Fuze?

“Blitz, buddy. My observation skills are far superior to others, ok? So, first, don’t worry. But, come on. Tell me what’s up.” Jäger clasped him on the back. 

Blitz sighed and downed the rest of his drink. Before saying anything he motioned to the bartender for a refill.

“So, well… I think… I may have some kind of non-platonic feelings for Fuze…” Blitz mumbled to the point that Jäger had to lean in to hear him.

“Ha!” Jäger laughed and Blitz flushed red, was he making fun of him? “I knew it! Damn, I am good.”

Blitz shifted in his seat suddenly uncomfortable.

Jäger looked at him and smiled, “Don’t worry, man. It’s all good. Plus, I can pretty much guarantee that Russian probably feels similar. I mean, who wouldn’t be in love with you? You are one of those all around annoyingly good guys that everyone loves. Blah, blah, blah.”

Blitz couldn’t help his smile at Jäger’s words. 

“Plus, he followed us here so that is kind of suspicious if he didn’t want to stick his dick in your ass.” Jäger shrugged but Blitz’s chest clenched.

“What?” Blitz looked around the bar quickly but Jäger smacked him in the back of the head and he turned back to look at him.

“Idiot! Don’t be so obvious!” Jäger shook his head.

“But, what do you mean he is here? How do you know” Blitz’s brows furrowed, confused.

Jäger pointed to his eyes, “Master of observation, duh.”

Blitz looked at him skeptically but chose to believe him at the moment. His heart was racing thinking that Fuze was hiding in the bar somewhere. Why did he come? Was it really to follow him? Or did he just happen to want to get a drink at the same exact time?

“Look, I got an idea. It’s a good idea, so trust me.”

“Eh, Jäger. What idea? Your ideas are never good ideas”

Jäger grasped Blitz’s wrist and pulled him from his stool. Blitz stumbled behind him awkwardly as Jäger pulled him along.

“What is this idea? Where are we going?” Blitz asked confused. Jäger was leading them down a dark hallway that most likely led to the bathrooms or the back of the bar. Once out of sight the other patrons, Jäger whipped Blitz to the wall and pushed against him.

“Dude, Jäger. What are you doing?” Blitz asked startled. Jäger was only slightly taller than him so their faces were only inches apart.

“My plan, Blitz. Come on. Play along with it!” Jäger hissed. 

“I don’t know what the plan is!” Blitz whispered back in a high pitch tone.

Jäger was now grinding against Blitz who was still practically in shock, his mind most definitely not catching up to what was going on. 

“This guy sure is taking his time.” Jäger sighed. “Let’s spice it up a bit.”

“Spice what, what is being spiced? What are we doing?” Blitz almost laughed, this was all too ridiculous. He may have come to terms with his feelings for Fuze but there was nothing like that between him and Jäger. 

Blitz gasped as Jäger’s head dipped down to his neck and he began sucking against his neck. Blitz was about to push the man off, having just about enough of this “plan”, when he felt Jäger pulled away from him. He opened his eyes, when had he closed them? And saw Fuze gripping Jäger by the collar of his shirt and his fist pulled back.

Blitz was bout to protest when Fuze’s fist surged forward against Jäger’s cheek. The force of it knocking him on his ass. Blitz watched in horror, what the hell was happening? Blitz was about to crouch down to check on Jäger when the man started laughing with a big grin on his face. 

Blitz froze and turned to Fuze whose face was scrunched in anger. Then Fuze turned to look at Blitz and he almost jumped back. Fuze grabbed Blitz’s arm and pulled him down the hallway and through a back door, all the while Jäger was laughing on the ground clutching his cheek.

The air outside was crisp and cool and Blitz appreciated the slap of it to wake him out of the daze he was in. The door had lead out to an alleyway and once clear of the door Fuze pushed Blitz back against the wall, both his hands securely around Blitz’s upper arms. 

Blitz looked up at Fuze, the man’s shoulders were heaving as if he was breathing heavily and his eyes were alit with more emotion than he’d ever seen before.

“Is that what you do? Just go around screwing with guys?” Fuze growled.

Blitz’s tried to comprehend what he had just said, the alcohol slowing down his thoughts.

“Well?!” Fuze tightened his grip.

“What? No! I don’t! Jäger was just— he was drunk. And being an idiot. I promise I don’t do that with anyone, I mean… God. You’re the only guy I seriously ever kissed!” Blitz blurted out.

Fuze’s expression softened as his eyes widened. 

“R— Really then?” Fuze almost whispered.

Blitz nodded nervously and Fuze’s shoulder dropped considerably as he relaxed. The tension in the air seemed to dissipate and Blitz watched Fuze curiously. Had the man been jealous? Was that Jäger’s plan? To force Fuze to act out of jealously? God, he was going to kick Jäger’s ass the next time he saw him.

“So…” Blitz finally said to fill the silence.

Fuze lifted his gaze but then it flicked down to Blitz’s neck and his face turned to a scowl. Blitz looked at him confused. 

“Your neck…” Fuze grumbled.

“My neck?” Blitz asked, not sure what he was referring to. 

“There is a mark there, from that guy.”

Blitz laughed, “from Jäger? Really?” he said as he hopelessly tried to look at his neck. He was really going to have to pummel that guy. 

But Fuze was still scowling at the hickey on Blitz’s neck, then he leaned in and Blitz gasped as he felt Fuze’s lips against his skin. The same spot Jäger’s mouth had been moments before but unlike Jäger’s, Fuze’s mouth felt like it electrified his skin. A moan escaped from Blitz as Fuze’s lips and tongue sucked and prodded the sensitive flesh. He felt his dick grow hard and a sense of euphoria started pulling at him when he felt Fuze pull away. Instantly the cold air stung at the now wet flesh.

Blitz looked at Fuze, his eyes heavy and Fuze seemed to snap out of whatever had consumed him when he fist came down that dark hallway.

He looked startled, like he was just coming to his senses. 

“I—“ Fuze grabbed his head. “I’m sorry— I’m not sure…” He continued to mumble.

“It’s OK, it actually felt go—“

“I— I need to go.” He looked flustered and Blitz found it oddly endearing. But then Fuze turned and began to walk down the alley back to street. Blitz felt like someone had just stabbed him in the gut.

“Fuze!” Blitz shouted at him as he neared the end of the alley. He started after him, but with his limp he couldn’t catch up. Blitz could only follow him down a block before he had to lean against a building and rest his leg, the pain shooting from the healing wound, clouding his thoughts.

He watched as Fuze hustled away down the dark street then turned the corner and was out of sight.

….

Blitz noticed that Fuze actively avoided him for the next several days. Wherever he went he never ran into the other man, not even a glimpse of him. He would be impressed if the act of it didn’t sting so much. At least his physical therapy was going well and his therapist gave him the OK to participate in attending the training course today with some of the other operators.

Not only will it be a nice distraction, Blitz was excited to get some anxiety worked out through some physical activity. 

After a quick shower, Blitz pulled on a simple t-shirt and a pair of old pants. He knew to expect both would get thoroughly dirty through the course. His limp had significantly lessened but was still somewhat there as he made his way outside. 

When he got to the course, he recognized some of the other operators hanging around as well trainees. The course was intended to be run with a partner or small group so the instructor would pair people up then have them get started at different times. 

Blitz waited with the other operators until they saw someone with a white armband approaching with coils of rope. 

“Hello all,” The instructor said as he approached “we will be doing things a little differently today. Since it is paramount you all work together, I’ve decided to pair you all up… with one of these” He lifted up on of the coils of rope.

The operators that were already present murmured with apparent annoyance, but Blitz didn’t really mind the extra challenge. It would be a good exercise in his opinion.

He watched as the instructor started handing out each rope and pairing up two of the operators or recruits together.

“You… and you. Pair up.” The instructor handed Blitz a rope when he came by. He had gestured to someone behind Blitz so he turned to see who his partner would be. 

He almost flinched. There was no way Fuze just happened to be here and just happened to be picked as his partner, yet there he was and he was approaching Blitz.

Blitz almost backed up when he approached, unsure of the situation, but Fuze ignored the apprehension and grabbed the rope Blitz held. He took one end and looped it around Blitz’s waist, who quickly inhaled feeling Fuze’s knuckles tickled his sides. 

Then Fuze took the other end and wrapped it around his own waist. The remaining slack from the rope was only about six feet. This was going to be… much more difficult than Blitz originally thought.

Everyone got into line as the Instructor directed then began whistling for pairs to start the course. 

Blitz’s heart thumped in his chest, incredibly aware of Fuze’s presence next to him. Neither of them had even said anything since that night and now they were supposed to work together through this course? Just about every thought he was having was giving him anxiety. He chanced a side glance to Fuze. The man stood with his hands on his hips looking at the pairs getting started on the course. Blitz tried to swallow as his eyes dropped down to the mans fitted shirt but oddly his mouth had gone dry.

“Blitz!” 

Blitz started at his name being shouted. His head whipped towards the instructor who looked like this wasn’t the first time he had shouted Blitz’s name. 

Blitz gave the man an awkward salute that made him cringe just seconds later before he made his way to the course’s start. He was anxiously aware of the presence tied to him via the rope across his waist.

The first section was an army crawl underneath barbed wire and through inches of mud. 

“Um…” Blitz looked over to Fuze who was already looking at him. His heart squeezed at the eye contact. Fuze gave a quick nod and Blitz went to the ground and started making his way through the mud. It was terribly uncomfortable and pulled at his clothes and limbs as he moved through the obstacle. He glanced back at Fuze who seemed to having the same struggles but wore a scowl on his face that made Blitz smirk.

After a several minutes Blitz was able to pull himself out of the first stage of the course. Fuze quickly followed and when Blitz looked back at him the man did not look happy.

Blitz smiled worriedly at the other mans expression. Fuze spared him a quick glance then tried to shake off some of the mud.

“I hate. Mud.” Fuze growled.

Blitz choked down a laugh that earned him a glare, but some of the tension he had been feeling loosened. 

They couldn’t stop any longer and had to continue on. The next obstacle was a tilted wall, at about 60 degrees, which required them to climb with the aid of a hanging rope. After witnessing some of the other pairs before them Blitz was aware that the mud from the previous obstacle had caused many of the pairs to slip down.

Blitz started first, then Fuze grabbed the rope next to him and they started their ascent. As soon as they started Blitz was cursing his muddy shoes. They had made it about halfway when a pair ahead of them had slipped, the rope whipping them off balance and one of them tumbled into Blitz before sliding to the ground, presumably not seriously injured. However, Blitz was knocked off his rope and he quickly scrambled to grab the rope again when he felt a grip on his arm preventing him from falling. 

Fuze had a strong grip and with one hand held on to Blitz as the other one strained on his own rope. Blitz looked up, his heart swelling knowing Fuze had caught him, the contact of his hand springing a few butterflies in his stomach to life.

Blitz quickly grabbed hold of his own rope as Fuze’s expression started to look strained. Adrenaline and a bit of glee settled into Blitz’s nerves as they finished the obstacle.

Next, they had to swing through bars to the other side. Blitz did his best to dry his hands but the bars were still slippery from the mud and sweat. It was a bit of a struggle but they both made it through without incident. After that was a cargo net they were required to climb then pull themselves over the top and climb back down. Then there was a collection of narrow beams they were to cross. 

They were making decent time, despite being tethered to one another as they had made past the halfway point of the course. 

The next obstacle was a long large pipe that was again at a steep angle. One was supposed to enter and climb inside to the top. However, there weren’t many holds or ways to get traction so it was easily to slide back down, especially if inside was slippery, which given the mud everyone was supporting, was likely the case.

Blitz entered first and Fuze followed close after. Blitz struggled against the steepness and slipperiness. To add to the difficulty the whole pipe was dark so one had to feel around to find any holds. Blitz was feeling confident as he thought they were getting near the end. But in his enthusiasm to reach the end his foot slipped and as his arms went out to grab hold of anything there was just the smoothness of the plastic pipe. He began sliding down, fast, until he hit against Fuze behind him. 

Fuze let out a grunt as he felt the impact of Blitz against him. Luckily, Fuze had a stronger hold on few of the pipe’s holds so he didn’t fall victim of sliding down as well.

Blitz was acutely aware that his whole back was against Fuze’s chest. He felt the other mans slightly labored breaths against his ear and he felt frozen. Blitz knew that Fuze was fighting to keep them both from slipping any further but Blitz couldn’t seem to make himself move. His whole backside felt the presence of Fuze behind him and he felt drunk on the touch. Then he realized a hardness against his lower back and he instantly stiffened.

It was from the exercise, Blitz thought, it had to be of course. 

“B-Blitz…” Fuze strangled out a gasp and Blitz almost whimpered at the voice against his neck. 

Fear started to hit Blitz, fear of what, he wasn’t quite sure but he immediately went to move forward to finish the obstacle. 

When they both emerged, Blitz had to blink away the darkness from the pipe and readjust to the light of the overcast day. The pipe obstacle led up to 20 ft wall they would need to descend via a rope. But, distracted from what happened just moments before, Blitz misjudged the length of the platform and his foot hit the edge awkwardly causing him to trip off the side. 

He gasped and his body reacted with fear as he realized he was falling. Then, he just stopped, mid-air. Ah, the rope! He felt it cut into his stomach as he hung against the side of the platform. Then he remembered who was on the other end of that rope and his head wiped up, Fuze!

Fuze was struggling against the lip of the platform, one of his arms held on to the edge of the pipe, and the other held on to the lip of the platform keeping them both from slipping over. Blitz saw the man’s face furrowed in concentration or pain and the look immediately snapped Blitz out of his stupor. He reached for a nearby rope and began ascending to get back to Fuze. As soon as Blitz pulled himself up, he saw Fuze relax back on the platform, his breath heaving.

“Gah, I’m— I’m sorry! Fuze…” Blitz gasped, his hands awkwardly hanging in the air as he knelt beside Fuze who was rubbing his stomach where the rope was tied. Blitz’s eyes widened. “Let me see.” He said firmly. 

Fuze looked up then at Blitz, almost startled. He opened his mouth to protest but Blitz was already grasping his shirt and pulling it up. 

Blitz inhaled sharply as he saw Fuze’s skin red and raw where the rope had dug into him. He could already see bruises forming and Blitz felt a wave of anger at himself course through him. 

“God, dammit. I’m sorry, Fuze.” Blitz ground out.

Fuze pulled his shirt back down and heaved a heavy breath, a soft smile on his lips that surprised Blitz. He then shook his head and looked back at the other man.

“It’s fine. You can help later.” Fuze eyelids dipped and he smiled. His hand had went up to Blitz’s neck and patted it. 

Blitz’s mouth dropped slightly astonished at Fuze’s response. Then, as he thought on it more his face heated and neck flushed. What, what did that mean? God, he was already distracted, what was Fuze trying to do to him? He was going to get them both killed on this damn course.

An instructor yelled up at them wondering if everything was OK which prompted them both to get moving. They continued on through the remaining obstacles. Blitz forced himself to put his full attention into completing the course and to not think about what happened in that pipe or shortly there after.

…

Blitz’s leg ached on their way back to main buildings. So much so that he had to limp somewhat sadly on the walk towards the showers. Most of those who were done with the course had immediately gone to wash off the mud and sweat. When Blitz arrived the shower rooms were somewhat busy as he expected. He gratefully slipped off his dirty clothes, grabbed a clean towel and made his way to a stall. The hot water felt divine as it washed away the caked on mud. He stayed long enough that the water started to turn cool and was forced to turn it off. 

As he started opening his locker he saw Fuze walk out from the showers, a towel tied to his waist. He was twisting his shoulder in a motion that looked like he was stretching it but his expression seemed pained. How could Blitz have forgotten the man had recently been shot there? He felt a wave of guilt realizing how often Blitz must’ve been the reason for agitating that wound. 

Fuze glanced over and spotted Blitz, who straightened instinctively. They held each other’s gaze for a passing moment before Blitz noticed Fuze’s eyes flick down to his neck. The man quickly turned away but not before Blitz saw a redness start to appear on his cheeks. Blitz’s brows furrowed wondering what caused the reaction when he remembered the mark Fuze had left days before still lingered there. 

“See you later.” Fuze said, turning back to give a quick serious glance to Blitz before he left to find his own locker.

Blitz’s heart hammered. See him later? What did that mean? Did he want Blitz to visit him? Wait, had he been serious about Blitz helping him with the rope burn? Blitz definitely felt a desire to help him, but with whatever was going on between them he couldn’t imagine Fuze would be comfortable with it. But from what he said… Maybe Blitz was wrong. Well, it couldn’t hurt to at least see what he meant.

…

Later that night Blitz arrived at the Spetsnaz’s room that belonged to Fuze and Tachanka with an armful of medicinal ointments, creams and other medical supplies. He was no medic and had only guessed at what could be useful. After a few steadying breaths he knocked on the door. He heard some movement and then the door creaked open to reveal Fuze standing in a tight grey shirt and black sweatpants. Blitz wanted to curse someone or something for allowing Fuze to look so good in casual clothes.

“Well,” Blitz aimed to fill the silence but his voice sounded strange to his own ears “let’s patch you up.” He added a smile in hopes to lessen the awkwardness. 

Fuze moved aside and Blitz made his way into the room. It was similar to his own but noticed one side was a lot neater than the other. He assumed which side belonged to which Spetsnaz member and he proved right when Fuze went to sit on the bed that was tidily made. 

An awkward silence grew as Blitz built up his courage. He took a deep breath than unceremoniously dropped the items he was holding on the bed next to Fuze who looked at him curiously.

“So…” Blitz began looking at the supplies under a furrowed brow contemplating where best to start. “Guess, first step is to see the damage… Can you… uh, remove your shirt?” Blitz willed himself not to feel anything at that request.

Fuze looked up at him, his face stone like as he removed the dreaded fitted grey shirt. Blitz looked up and inhaled deeply as he thought, mother fucking Fuze, what are you doing to me.

When Blitz looked back down at the now shirtless Fuze, the man was looking back up at him curiously. Vowing to be as nonchalant about all this as possible, Blitz clasped his hands together.

“Ok, let’s take a look than shall we? Face the other way?” Blitz went to sit on the bed as Fuze turned to the side to show him his back. Blitz’s teeth ground together as he saw the bruised, red and welting skin across the man’s back. “This… looks painful… I’m sorry, again.”

Fuze lifted his shoulder in a shrug then added, “This for your safety was worth it.”

Blitz’s breath caught at the kind words that thoroughly surprised him. He wasn’t sure how to respond so he grabbed one of the nearby ointments and pushed out the cream on his hand. Ignoring the flutter in his gut Blitz brought the cream to damaged skin. Fuze flinched underneath the touch and Blitz mumbled an apology.

Silence again grew between them as Blitz did his best to treat the wound. It wasn’t necessarily one that required a lot of care but Blitz hoped it would help. He was still chastising himself for being so thoroughly distracted and being the reason for causing Fuze any unnecessary pain.

“Fuze, I… uh…” Blitz’s mouth began before he had a chance to form what he intended to say.

“Shuhrat.” Fuze said softly, barely above a whisper.

“What?” Blitz asked despite having heard him.

“Shuhrat, my name. Say it, will you?”

Blitz was still facing the man’s back and couldn’t see the look on his face but he saw Fuze’s ears redden. 

“Oh, ok. Yeah. Um… Shuhrat?” After using codenames for so long it felt oddly intimate just saying another operators real name. Blitz however, savored the way the name felt on his lips. He heard Fuze give a low moan and Blitz’s heart clenched. “And, and me… I mean, my name. It’s Elias…” He mumbled hurriedly.

“E-Elias…” Fuze said slowly as he turned around to face Blitz, his expression surprised him. It looked unguarded…

“Say it again.” Blitz gasped. His name had never felt so good to his ears and he was anxious to hear it again, the way this Russians accent twisted it into something brand new to him despite it being as old as he was.

“Elias.” Fuze repeated but in a more sure and deeper voice. His hand lifted up to—

The door swung open and both men jumped then whipped their heads to the door.

“Oh.” Tachanka stood there trying to suppress a grin but doing an awful job. “Well, hello there German friend.”

Blitz’s heart sped up suddenly and he bolted off the bed. “Ah, h-hello! I was just— mmm, I was leaving, uh…” Blitz turned around and picked up all the supplies he had brought in record time then walked briskly to the door. Tachanka thankfully stepped aside to let him pass. 

“Goodbye German friend!” He said as Blitz passed the door and began down the hallway. 

As soon as he turned the corner, Blitz fell against the wall as he tried to slow his heart.


End file.
